Third Time's a Charm

During the third tutoring session, I had the opportunity to work with the same student I have worked with since the beginning. She had gotten back a practice CATW essay on Fast Food and the effects it has on young people's health. The prompt discussed Fast Food and how advertising affects children, especially their health. The article highlighted the fact that children are being diagnosed with adult disease like diabetes and heart disease. After reading the CATW prompt and the student's essay, it was evidence that the student had good ideas and a clear understanding but needs help developing and formulating the overall structure of her written work. To help her develop her ideas, I used the focused free writing technique that is demonstrated in the Tutoring Writing book. I asked her to describe what she would like to say in the essay without worrying about grammatical errors or spelling. As she began to write, she was able to come up with additional ideas that could be used in her essay. The student had many good points in her essay, however, they were unorganized. Using my version of the coloring technique that I renamed, numbering, we went through her entire essay and numbered key points that were related.